Nightmare
by Scarlett H. Hamilton
Summary: Co-authored with Raven Lynn Morrigan. Raven may have banished her father from this realm but he can still reach into her mind. Can Robin save her from her nightmare before it destroys her? One-shot. COMPLETE.


**One of my cousin, Raven Lynn Morrigan's abandoned stories I am rewriting as a co-authored venture. If you haven't checked my profile where I made note of it, I assure you she gave me permission. If she hadn't these old stories of hers would be in the trash by now lost forever. This is another one written in her coping period after she was raped as several of them have turned out to be. I'm going to focus more on the other events in the story. Its short and I don't intend to make it longer just edit it so to speak. It will be a one-shot.**

**Nightmare**

Robin awakens suddenly hearing Raven scream. Only its not the tower that he finds himself in. This is the fiery underworld that he rescued Raven from when her father tried to take over the world. He turns as Raven screams again but as he runs toward the sound his way is blocked the fire bird creatures. Robin reaches for the bow staff from his utility belt only to find that he has no weapons. He braces himself as they rush forward but rather than hurting him, they just pass right through him. "What is going on here?" He doesn't stay there to ponder it as he hears Raven scream again. He takes off running toward the sound of her screams.

*~**`'**~*

Raven groans in pain as she hangs from chains in between two stone pillars in the ruins of the abandoned church where Robin first found her in this place. She looks up at the ghostly visage of her father as he briefly circles in front of her.

"You will pay dearly for defying me daughter."

"This isn't real."

"Isn't it?"

Raven screams again as he back is struck with a fiery whip.

"Your cries of pain sound very real to me."

*~**`'**~*

As Robin approaches the ruins of the old church he stops, staring in shock at what he sees looming in the distance. "Trigon."

More fire birds spring up but like before they have no effect on Robin.

Robin walks right through them on his way to the ruins.

*~**`'**~*

Raven hangs limply from the chains whimpering in pain from the fresh wound.

"Give up Raven."

"No! I won't let you!" She tries to shy away as he touches her hair with one sharp claw-but the chains hold her in place.

"I promise to take very good care of my little girl."

She winces as her hair grows long under his touch.

Trigon again circles in front of Raven to face her. "Stop resisting me and the pain will end."

"I don't care what you do to me. I will never let you take control."

Trigon strikes Raven across the face-leaving deep bloody gashes from his claws. "You will give in. It is only a matter of time. Not even you can resist me forever." He circles back behind her. Striking her back again and again with the fiery whip.

Raven screams out but still refuses to give in.

This time rather than strike her, Trigon gathers up her now long hair. "I grow tired of trying to break your stubborn will." He wraps her hair around her neck drawing it tight. "Give in or I will snuff you out and take possession of your empty shell."

Raven struggles to draw breath but the hair is drawn so tight around her neck its impossible.

Robin reaches the old church in time to see Trigon choking Raven. The fire birds couldn't touch him. He can only hope that he can touch the demon before him. Robin rushes forward then takes a flying leap at the demon's head.

Trigon turns, sensing interference only to be kicked in the face by Robin.

As the demon staggers back-falling into a wall Robin kneels beside Raven as the hair falls away from his neck. "Raven?"

Raven opens her eyes and looks up at Robin startled. "Robin? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you screaming...and this is where I was when I woke up."

"You aren't awake."

"What do you mean?"

"You're in my mind. My father did this. If he can't be in this realm to control it then he intends to possess me and take it over that way."

"I won't let that happen to you."

"No you have to get out of here while you still can." Raven looks up at Robin. "He's too strong this time. I can't force him out."

"I'm not leaving you here alone with him." Robin looks down and tries to pick up a good sized chunk of stone to batter it against the chains until they break and free Raven, but nothing happens.

Trigon gets up. "You can't take her anywhere."

"You're not physically here."

Robin looks at Raven then up at Trigon.

"If I'm not really here then neither is he."

"Robin no!"

"Let me help you...please."

Raven stares up at him. If she is ever to be free of her father's invasion into her mind she does need help driving him out. She looks down at the white cloak at her feet, not even all her other sides combined could stop it. She whispers quietly. "Please be careful."

Robin nods. He moves quickly, getting between Trigon and Raven.

Trigon approaches Robin. "You should stay out of affairs that don't concern you."

"If it concerns Raven, then it also concerns me."

The demon looks over at his daughter. "You have bond with this pitiful creature. No matter it only means he will be out of my way once I dispose of you."

Raven looks up at her father. She hadn't considered any harm would come to Robin if Trigon were to get his way. With Robin here now, their half formed bond is completed and if she is to succumb to her father then so will he through that bond. Like it or not the two of them are forever linked now. That revelation renews her will to fight off her father's attempt to possess her.

Robin dodges the blow as the demon tries to strike out at him. He leaps up turning as he kicks delivering a powerful blow to Trigon's jaw that sends him reeling.

Trigon staggers back but quickly gains his footing and lashes out at Robin.

Tucking and rolling away Robin avoids the demon's strike. He looks up at Trigon, facing the demon here now is nothing like trying to fight him during his brief take over of the world. He was quick and powerful. Here he is lumbering and slow. As he glances over at Raven as she concentrates, he suddenly understands why. Wherever she sent her father to it is taking a lot of power for him to reach out into Raven's mind. The longer he keeps up his attempt to possess her the weaker he becomes. All he has to do is keep Trigon occupied until he is weak enough for Raven to fight him off.

Raven focus' her powers on driving out her father as Robin attacks again. At first nothing happens then all of the sudden the illusion of her father's underworld begins to fade away. She collapses to her knees no longer held by chains. The fiery birds that are gathered revert back to their small cutesy forms. The starlit sky appears overhead as the rocky path appears before them. Raven looks up as her father stumbles after a blow from Robin. She staggers up from the ground and stands before him. "Get out of my mind!"

Robin watches as a white glow surrounds Raven's body. He is very much reminded of the day that she banished her father from their world as she now banishes him from her mind. Robin can only hope that Trigon can never invade Raven's mind like this again. When its over he watches Raven as she collapses bruised and bloody on the ground. Robin reaches out to her but is suddenly pulled out of her mind.

*~**`'**~*

Robin nearly screams Raven's name as he sits up in his bed and looks around. All he is met with is the predawn sight of his room. Was it real or a nightmare? Robin gets up and rushes to Raven's room to check on her. He doesn't even bother knocking, he just rushes in kneeling beside her bed. "Raven?"

Raven she moans as she awakens. It takes some effort but finally she opens her eyes.

He watches as long locks of hair tumble down from her shoulders as she tries to sit up.

Raven winces from the pain in her back. It seems whatever happened to her in her mind also affected her body as well.

"Are you okay Raven?"

She looks over at Robin. Raven wraps her arms around him, clinging to him. "I will be thanks to you."

Robin holds Raven close, being careful not to touch her injured back.

"Will you please stay with me while I heal?"

"Sure." As she pulls away and lays back to enter her healing trance Robin sits down on the bed beside her, grasping her hand in his own as dawn approaches outside.

**I wanted to veer away from the "Nevermore" episode as much as possible. That is why I used the underworld back drop from the "The End" Episodes in place of Raven's dark mindscape. I wanted Trigon to be in control of it and trying to force Raven to give him control of her, which was a bit different than the original version of the story but in the end it came out the same. Since Robin was only visiting via his bond with Raven and not actually in Raven's mind like Cyborg and Beast Boy were in "Nevermore" then the birds couldn't affect him and he couldn't affect anything that really was there. Trigon could affect it to an extent because he is so powerful but not completely unless Raven let him have control. Because Trigon and Robin weren't really there they could duke it out with each other. Think of it as if ghosts were real we couldn't touch them and they couldn't touch us, but they could wail on each other.**


End file.
